I'll Save Myself
by YouThinkYouNoeMe
Summary: When Lita jumps to Smackdown, Triple H follows... but what are his motives? Characters: Edge, Lita, HHH, Torrie Wilson, Dawn Marie, others
1. Default Chapter

PART ONE

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SEPTEMBER 15, 2003****

Trish Stratus stood in the ring, sizing up her two opponents as they made their way towards her.  She shook her head, still in disbelief that she was being forced into a Handicap Match with Molly Holly and Gail Kim--- the very two women who had only a week ago vowed to end her career.  It was obvious that Eric Bischoff, the co-GM who had signed the match, did not give a damn about the Canadian diva's safety and well being, as long as he got something in return, something that Gail Kim had apparently given to him in advance.  Then again, it *was* Eric Bischoff she was thinking about, and he had never exactly been a fair boss.  A few moments later, the bell was rung and the match began.  Trish caught her two opponents off guard, quickly giving them a crisp, solid double dropkick.  The blonde woman scored a near fall on Molly about a minute and a half into the match, and was doing a remarkable job holding her own against the two, but after Molly kicked out Trish's offense went downhill.  Gail and Molly took advantage of the handicap situation, teaming up and beating the hell out of Trish until they were sure they had her beat.  Then, Molly went up top and executed a perfect Molly-Go-Round, sealing the victory at just over four minutes.  Trish sighed and rolled over as the bell was rang… half in pain, half in relief that the match was over.  She should have known that those two weren't going to stop there… it would take class to do so, and that was a quality that neither of them seemed to possess.

Trish felt a hand rake into her blonde hair, pulling her up off the mat.  Molly and Gail swiftly gave her a double DDT, almost knocking her out cold.  Trish grimaced in pain, her hand coming up to grab a hold of her neck.  She laid back on the mat, taking a moment to catch her breath.  It was then that she noticed that Molly and Gail were no longer in the ring.  She sighed again, thinking that they must have given up and left.  Of course, she had to be wrong again, as she looked up to discover the Women's Champion and her new protégé heading towards her again… this time with steel chairs in their hands.  Trish groaned as they picked her up and laid her on the one chair.  Then she felt Gail Kim take the other chair and place it right on her face, holding her head down to the mat with it.  Trish wanted so badly to swing at Gail and get herself out of the obvious danger she was in, but she felt as though she couldn't move.  If Molly hit the chair pressing against her face at the angle she'd be jumping from the top rope, the impact would without a doubt break her neck.  She watched Molly climb to the top rope, and the young woman squeezed her eyes tightly, waiting for the worst.  All of a sudden, she heard cheers… cheers that grew louder and louder by the second, until they were so deafening that she couldn't hear herself think.  She opened her eyes to see Molly drop down from the rope, pointing behind Gail, gesturing for the Asian diva to turn around.  Trish could now hear bodies hitting the mat as the roar of the crowd continued on.  She dropped off of the chair, painfully turning over on to her side to see who her rescuer was.  Her eyes widened, and a huge grin formed on her face as she saw who was there.  The woman in the ring who was currently beating the crap out of Gail and Molly was a very close friend of Trish's, one she hadn't seen in a long time.

It was Lita.

Trish watched in amazement as her friend grabbed Molly and kicked her in the stomach, nailing her with a DDT.  She followed that up by giving Gail a massive powerbomb and giving Molly a Twist of Fate, just for good measure.  After that, she made her way over to Trish, dropping to her knees in front of her.

"You okay?" she asked, sliding out of the ring and pulling Trish with her.  Trish looked over at Lita in disbelief.  She was talking and acting as though she hadn't missed a day, when in reality she had been gone for nearly 16 months.

"You're back!" Trish cried, grinning widely, suddenly forgetting about the pain she was in.  The redhead looked down at her and returned the grin, nodding happily.

"No shit… now let's get the hell out of here," she instructed, leading Trish up the ramp.  

As she raised her friend's hand in triumph, Lita took a moment to look out and survey the crowd.  She felt goosebumps forming on her bare legs.  This was what she worked so hard for over the past year, the main reason she went against everything all those doctors told her and began her training all over again.  All the grief and agony she went through was suddenly worth it.  As Lita reached the top of the ramp, she glanced over at Trish and then scanned the crowd once more.  She inhaled deeply, knowing one thing was for sure… 

It felt great to be back.

BACKSTAGE 

The man who was making his way down a backstage hallway smirked as he passed by a mirror, taking a moment to admire himself.  He looked good… but then again, if you asked him, he always looked good.  As he headed in the direction of the ring, he passed by the divas locker room.  He glanced over as Ivory made her way out, and he sent her a cocky grin and nod.  The brunette woman shook her head at him, turning and heading in the other direction.  The muscular man shook his head… she was nowhere near his league anyway.  He continued down the hall, stopping when he went to turn a corner only to see three people standing in the hallway, in the midst of what seemed to be a heated argument.

"You can't do that!" Co-General Manager Stone Cold Steve Austin screamed at his partner, Eric Bischoff.  The shorter man wore an arrogant grin, laughing in Austin's face.

"I can, and I did.  You think I didn't know you were going to hire Lita back?  How dumb do you think I am?" Bischoff asked.  Austin shook his head in disbelief, wanting nothing more than to smash the can of beer he had in his left hand right in Bischoff's smug face.  He glanced over at the redhead standing next to him before narrowing his eyes at Eric once more.

"I think you're a dumb sack of shit!  Do you realize what you've done by giving Lita to Smackdown?  You dropped one of the best damn female wrestlers in the world for nothing!" Austin screamed.  As pissed as Lita was, she couldn't help but grin at the comment Steve made about her being one of the best female wrestlers in the world.

"Not for nothing, Steve.  I got something for getting rid of Lita alright… just not in the form of a wrestler.  Gail Kim approached me with the idea of sending Lita here to Smackdown, and let's just say that once again, she paid up promptly," Bischoff shot back, a sly grin forming on his face.

"Why don't *I* have a say in this Eric?  It is *my* career you're toying around with," Lita interjected.  She certainly wasn't going to stand for Eric shipping her off to a show where there was no competition for her simply because he needed someone to fuck him.

"Don't concern yourself with how I do business Red.  As far as I'm concerned, you're out of here tomorrow," Bischoff said tauntingly.  Lita scowled at her boss… normally she liked being called Red, but something about the way that man said it bothered her.  Then, Bischoff got a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and he turned back to Lita, eyeing her from head to toe.  

"Unless…" he said suggestively.  "… unless you want to prove to me just why you're someone I want to keep around."  Lita's scowl turned into a look of disgust, and it was taking all of the strength she had not to smack him.  Eric took a step in Lita's direction, putting his hand on her shoulder as he continued to look her up and down.  Austin cleared his throat loudly, causing Bischoff to jump and back away from Lita.

"You have three seconds to get the hell out of here before I get pissed off.  You *don't* want to see me pissed off," Austin threatened, pointing down the hall.  Bischoff scoffed at Steve, turning and stalking down the hall in a huff.  Once he was gone, Steve turned to the returning diva, putting a consoling hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Red, but he worked behind my back.  There's nothing I can do," he said sadly, shaking his head.  Lita shook her head as well, gripping Steve's forearm gently.

"You tried Steve… you got me rehired, and that's more than I could ever ask for, even if I am getting hired to the wrong show.  Thanks," she said.  The two of them shook hands and then headed in separate directions, Austin to go find Bischoff and try to talk him out of this and Lita to go to the women's locker room and get her stuff so she could head to Smackdown the next day.

Still in the spot he had been standing in all along, the man ran a hand through his hair, his eyes narrowing at the thought of Eric Bischoff shipping Lita to Smackdown.  Ever since the redhead had injured her neck over a year before he had been watching her very closely.  While he excuse for jumping to Raw was so that he could be with his best friend, the truth of the matter was he wanted to be there when she came back.  Ever since she joined WWE, then the WWF, he had been fascinated with her.  She was different than the other women… she was tough, and she didn't take bullshit from anyone.  She was as tough as his old girlfriend and as hott as his ex-wife.  She was just the woman he needed, and he had all intentions of making her his when she returned to action.  Now that she was being sent to another show, that goal would be nearly impossible, especially with the roster split being extended into pay-per-views.  The way his scheduled conflicted with hers he would see her once every other month.  Something had to be done… he refused to let her get away.  Deciding that he no longer felt it necessary to go to the ring, the man tossed his hands in the air and turned back in the direction of his locker room.  He glanced back for a second, eyeing the spot where the woman had been standing only a few moments earlier.  One thing was for sure…

Triple H was set on making Lita his.

**Hey!  Well, this is my first attempt at an 'in character' story, so I hope you all like it!!!**


	2. Part 2

PART TWO

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THE NEXT DAY

Lita entered the arena where the Smackdown taping was being held that night.  She sighed as she looked around the building… it just didn't feel right being on Smackdown, and she had only been there for a few minutes.  Her heart was on Raw, in the Women's Division, fighting for the championship, but all her aspirations for winning that title had been squashed when that damn Eric Bischoff shipped her over here.  All because of him, she was now stranded on a show where there was literally no competition.  Sure, there was Shaniqua, but Lita wasn't sure she wanted to square off with such a bruiser so soon after her long recovery.  Other than her, there was nobody.  Dawn Marie and Nidia were at least trying to improve, but Lita considered the two of them friends and she didn't want to fight them, which was more than she could say for the two blonde divas, Sable and Torrie.

"Lita!" a voice called, suddenly cutting through the silence.  Lita turned and saw Stephanie McMahon heading towards her, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Hey Steph," Lita replied, putting on a smile for her new boss.

"I'm so glad you're here… you don't know how happy I am to have you here on Smackdown," she gushed, touching her arm gently.

"Thanks," was all the redhead could reply.  As much as she wanted to be as excited as Stephanie… she would love to feel as thrilled as the youngest McMahon looked… she just couldn't be.  Noticing the lack of enthusiasm in the young woman's tone, the brunette sighed, her expression growing serious.

"Look Lita," she said.  "I realize that there's a lot more for you over on Raw, but I promish I'll do my best to make your career on this show as successful as possible.  And you have my solemn vow that I will *not* misuse you or disrespect you the way that Eric Bischoff did."  Lita couldn't help but smile at that promise… that would be one of the perks of working for Stephanie.  At least she had the decency to treat her employees with the respect they deserved.

"Thanks Steph," she replied, still smiling.  "And thanks for understanding how I feel."  Stephanie nodded as her cell phone suddenly began ringing.  She looked down at the screen before bringing her eyes back up to Lita's hazel ones.

"No problem Lita.  I have to take this call now, so I'll talk to you later on."  She waved goodbye and headed off, answering her phone as she did so.

Once Stephanie disappeared, Lita turned and headed for the women's locker room.  Once she got inside, she noticed that Dawn Marie was the only one there.

"Hey Dawn!" Lita called, excitement finding her tone again for the first time that day.  Her voice drew the woman's attention away from the magazine she was reading, and she looked up, grinning widely when she saw her standing there.  She jumped up from her seat, running over and hugging Lita tightly.

"Hey!" she cried.  It felt great to see Lita, who was one of Dawn's best friends in ECW.  "I was so happy when they told me you'd be coming here!"  When they separated, Lita took a few more steps into the locker room.

"Well, here I am," she responded, tossing her bag to the floor.  "It's so empty in here," she noted.  "The Raw women's locker room is jam packed compared to this one."  Dawn shrugged at her comment.

"It's always been like that," she said.  "For the most part, Nidia and I are the only ones who are usually in here.  Shaniqua comes in, but she just drops off her bags before she goes back to the Basham's.  Torrie is always off primping, and Sable is always off with Vince, doing whatever it is they do together."  

Both Lita and Dawn shuddered at the thought of Vince and his newest toy, Sable.  The redheaded diva thought that Sable had to be the world's biggest hypocrite.  When she left WWE four years ago, she had sued them for sexual harassment.  Now that she made her big return, she practically threw herself at Mr. McMahon and *willingly* did what she'd filed a suit against him for.  Then there was Torrie, another diva that Lita didn't hold high on her list.  As Dawn said, she was always off primping herself, putting makeup on and fixing her hair… she never had time for anyone, seemingly, but herself.

"Oh well… you and Nidia and I will have plenty of fun withOUT Sable or Torrie.  I wouldn't want them ruining our fun anyway," Lita shrugged.  Dawn laughed, nodding in agreement.

"You're very positive about all this… I expected you to be upset about coming here," she said, and it was Lita's turn to shrug.

"Oh, I am Dawnie.  But I've decided that I can do one of two things… I can sit here week in and week out and mope about how my career is going to go down the toilet, or I can prevent that from happening."  Dawn nodded, admiring her friend's attitude.  As the two women continued to converse, they didn't notice that there actually was another diva in the locker room with them.  As she twisted her blonde hair between her index and middle fingers, she glared at the two angrily.

_So, Lita doesn't want me hanging around? _She thought, narrowing her eyes at the redhead.  _We'll see whose career is in the toilet when I'm done with her._

LATER THAT NIGHT 

Edge walked down the hallway, random thoughts floating in and out of his mind while he passed time before his match.  He stopped walking when he bumped into Rey Mysterio.  Grinning down at his tiny friend, Edge greeted him.

"Hey Rey-Rey, what's up?" he asked, shaking his head.  Rey shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing really.  I'm just a little surprised you're here," he said.  Edge raised an eyebrow… why would him being there be a surprise?

"Why wouldn't I be here?" he asked curiously, and Rey laughed.

"I think I worded that wrong," he said.  "I meant, I'm surprised to see you out here, in the hallway."  That didn't help any, as Edge was still pretty confused.

"I still don't get it," he said, feeling as though he was missing something.

"Dumb blonde," Rey said jokingly, dodging the playful swing the Canadian took at him.  "What I *really* mean is, I'm surprised to see you out in the hallway and not in the catering room, which is where Lita is right now."  Now Edge got what Rey was saying, but he was confused as to why he was saying it… especially since Lita was on Raw.

"What is Lita doing here?" he asked, and Rey laughed again.

"Now I understand why I confused you so much.  I thought you already heard… Lita's a member of the Smackdown roster now, effective as of today," Rey replied.  Edge's eyes widened slightly, a small grin forming on his face.

"Really?  That's… that's…"

"Totally awesome?" Mysterio offered.  Edge laughed, nodding his head in agreement.  "I knew you'd be excited."

"Yeah, of course I'm excited.  Lita's one of my best friends, and I'm…"

"Completely in love with her?" Rey finished.  Edge nodded for a minute, but then shook his head fiercely after his former partner's words sunk in.

"What?  No, I'm not completely in love with her," he defended himself, still shaking his head.  Laughing yet again, Rey patted Edge on the shoulder.

"Don't deny it man.  Listen, I gotta go now, but I just thought I'd pop up and let you know about her being here," he said, turning to walk away.

"Gee thanks," Edge said, shaking his head as his masked friend walked away.

"Oh, Edge?" Rey called, turning back to face him for a moment.

"Yeah?" the blonde man called back.

"Good luck," he said, grinning at him tauntingly.

Edge laughed, shaking his head.  Once Rey was gone, however, his expression grew serious.  As much as he hated to admit it, Rey was sort of right.  While Edge wasn't *completely* in love with Lita, he most definitely had a serious crush on her.  In fact, he'd had one ever since she'd made her debut in WWE, then the WWF, with Essa Rios.  Once she got together with Matt Hardy, he did his best to push his feelings to the back burner… Matt was a good friend, and he didn't want to screw up his friendship with both of them by coming between them.  But now, everything was different.  Matt and Lita were no longer together, and it was safe to say that he and Matt were no longer friends.  Now, there was nothing to hold him back from admitting his feelings to her.  Well, there was *one* thing…

The only thing that was holding Edge back from admitting his feelings to Lita was himself.

**Hey everyone!!  I'm glad you liked the first chapter of this story.  Here's the next… hope you enjoy it!  Don't hesitate to review!!!!!!**


	3. Part 3

PART THREE

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THAT SUNDAY- UNFORGIVEN

Triple H found the door that Stone Cold Steve Austin was using as an office and stopped in front of it.  He took a deep breath, preparing to go in.  As much as he despised Austin, he knew that he would be plenty willing to get rid of him and, for once, that was exactly what he needed.  He exhaled loudly, pushing the door open.  He groaned as he saw that, not only were *both* Austin and Bischoff in the office, but the two had yet again found themselves in the midst of a heated argument.  Hunter could only imagine what it was about this time.

"So what are you trying to say, that I can't do my job?" Austin challenged, staring Bischoff down.  Eric kept his glare locked on his partner, nodding his head.

"That's *exactly* what I'm saying!" he cried, standing up a bit on his toes to even out their heights.  "You have been nothing but a disgrace to my show since the second you showed up again."  Austin sent Eric a look of disbelief.

"Your show?  I *made* this damn show what it is today!" Steve screamed.  "Now listen to me you stupid son of a bitch, I'm gonna make this real…"  Austin trailed off as he suddenly got the feeling that he and Bischoff weren't alone in the room anymore.  He slowly turned his head to the side, Bischoff's gaze following shortly after to see what Austin was looking at.

"Sorry to interrupt your little – chat, if you could call it that – but I have something to say," Triple H said, stepping into the room.  Both general managers stared at him blankly, waiting for him to continue.

"I want out," he stated plainly.  "I think I'd be better off on Smackdown."

"Hell no!" Eric and Steve exclaimed simultaneously.

"Hunter, you can't leave… we need you on the show," Bischoff explained.  Austin, however, saw things a little differently, and he shook his head.

"No we don't.  We've got plenty of talented people on Raw… many of whom I'm sure would be glad to see him go.  We don't need him… what we need is *that*," he said, gesturing to the World Heavyweight Championship, which was resting securely over top of the Game's shoulder.  Bischoff nodded slowly.

"For once Steve, you're right," he agreed.  "Hunter, you can't leave.  We will not send you to Smackdown while you're holding our major title."

  
Hunter looked down at his arm, eyeing his title speculatively.  He debated with himself silently… did he *really* want to give up his Championship just so he could go to Smackdown?  He *had* been holding it for nearly a year, minus the month that his former best friend Shawn Michaels had taken it from him… it was safe to say that the Championship had in a way become a part of him.  On the other hand, Smackdown also held something that had very much become a part of him – in his mind anyway… a certain redheaded diva.

"Look you guys, I'm glad you're *finally* agreeing on something," HHH replied, rolling his eyes emphatically, "but I don't care about the title.  I just need to be on Smackdown.  If you're really that concerned with the title staying on Raw, I'll throw my match with Goldberg tonight.  I'm sure he won't mind being Champion."  Both Austin and Bischoff raised their eyebrows in surprise.  After all Triple H had gone through in the past year to ensure that the belt stayed around his waist, his nonchalant attitude towards giving it up was a bit shocking, to say the least.

"I still don't think we can afford to part with you.  Come on, just think about it for a minute," Bischoff pleaded, wondering what in hell was going on in Hunter's mind.

"Hell no," Austin interjected.  "If the man wants to leave, let him leave.  We can work out a deal with Stephanie and get someone from Smackdown to come here."  Triple H had been a constant pain in his ass, so he certainly wasn't going to miss him if he left.  As far as Stone Cold was concerned, as long as the title stayed, then Helmsley was free to go.  "Let him go.  He can leave today for all I care… as long as he leaves the Heavyweight Title behind."  A small smile slowly crept its way onto Hunter's face.

"The title is all yours," he said, winking at his soon to be former boss before turning and heading out the door.  As he closed the door behind him, he leaned in and listened as he heard Austin speaking again.

"Good riddance," he called.

"I don't get it," Hunter heard Bischoff say.  "That World Title was like his baby.  Why would he give it up just to be on Smackdown?"

"I don't know," Steve replied.  "But whatever it is, there must be something *really* important over there for him."

Outside the door, Triple H nodded.  _If only you knew just how important Steve._  He sighed contentedly as he walked away… that had certainly gone a lot more smoothly than he had planned.  Austin was right… there *was* something over on Smackdown that was very important to him.  Actually, it wasn't a something – more like a someone – who was, to say the least, extremely important…

Lita.

TUESDAY- SMACKDOWN 

"Stephanie, you wanted to see me?" Edge called, sticking his head into her office.  His stomach dropped as he realized that Stephanie was not alone – Lita was in the office as well.

"Yeah, come on in Edge," Stephanie replied, her head buried in her laptop.  "Have a seat, I'll be with you in just a minute."  Edge nodded, walking over and taking a seat in the chair next to Lita's.

"Hey," she whispered cheerily, smiling up at him.

"Hey Li," he whispered back, sending her a small smile.  Her attitude had certainly changed drastically since a week ago.  A few minutes later, Stephanie finished up what she was doing, and she turned off her laptop.  She closed it, folding her hands and resting them on top as she addressed her two employees.

"Okay guys, I guess you're wondering why I called both of you here."  Both Superstars nodded, waiting for her response.  "Well, I've been thinking that – since there's really not much competition for Lita here on Smackdown – maybe it would be best if she were paired up with a male Superstar.  At first, I thought Matt Hardy, but I know you two aren't together anymore, so I didn't want to make the situation weird.  Then, this idea hit me… I think that the fans would love to see Lita and Edge together.  What do you two think?"

"I'm all for it," Edge answered quickly, his cheeks reddening slightly.  He had shouted out his answer to her question a little too quickly.  

He, for one, knew that he would absolutely love working with Lita.  He had always been more or less a loner, but he had always felt that if he had to work with any of the divas he would most want to work with her.  Not only was she easy on the eyes, she was a great friend, and twenty times more fun to hang out with then some of the other women on the show.  But what if Lita didn't feel the same about working with him?  He glanced over at her, trying to read the look on her face.  She appeared as though she was deep in thought… Edge hoped that she decided to work with him.  He also hoped that if she did indeed agree to manage him that she did so because she wanted to, not because she felt pressured by him and Stephanie.  Finally, after what the Canadian felt to be hours, a small grin crept to Lita's face.  She turned her gaze to Edge for a minute, smiling at him before returning her glance to Stephanie.

"I would love to work with Edge," she replied, grinning.  Stephanie smiled as well, clapping her hands together in triumph.

"Great!" she exclaimed.  "I'm so glad you guys liked the idea.  I figured it would keep you a little more involved Lita.  Well, that's all I really wanted to know, so I'll mark you down as being in Edge's corner tonight and you two can go."  Edge and Lita stood, waving goodbye to Stephanie as they made their way out of her office.

Once outside, Lita explained to Edge that she had to go find Dawn, and that she would come and see him in his locker room later on that night to talk about the show.  As she walked away from him, she couldn't help but turn back and send him one last glance.  Working with Edge was something she had wanted to do since the beginning of their friendship, but he had always seemed to want help from no one.  He had seemed very excited – thrilled, actually – about working with her, and Lita couldn't help but feel the same.  What a turn of a events.  She had gone from being completely miserable to being unable to wipe the smile off of her face in a matter of a week.  Things were finally starting to look up…

Maybe being shipped to Smackdown wasn't such a bad thing after all.

**No reviews last chapter?  I hope that doesn't mean I lost your interest already… =\ LOL, please let me know what you think of this chapter!!**


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